Members Chicken Monkey Posted February 20, 2010 Members Share Posted February 20, 2010 .. Diane's well-shaped, for sure. I've continued my efforts in learning the acoustic-restaurant-gig standards, and this week relearned "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay", among others. I forgot how weird that song is harmonically. The head of Stax Records (before Al Bell) had a "no minor chords" rule, which makes it even weirder. The verse uses the II as a turnaround, and the chorus just alternates between the I and the VI. It's almost as if that dum-dum-dum-dum descending line (from the IV to the II in the verse, and the I to the VI in the chorus) dictated the whole thing, instead of standard rules of Western harmony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rsadasiv Posted February 23, 2010 Members Share Posted February 23, 2010 We've been plowing very similar turf for a while now, but damn they do it well. The Funk Brothers:EB69Ij5X6AE ojdbDYahiCQ http://soundclick.com/share?songid=5825334 The JBs:H_-rZzsVZdk http://soundclick.com/share?songid=5918933 Booker T. and the MGs:bKUxwQqaM2k http://soundclick.com/share?songid=6637418http://soundclick.com/share?songid=6315475 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rhino55 Posted February 23, 2010 Members Share Posted February 23, 2010 We've been plowing very similar turf for a while now, but damn they do it well. YES YES YES!! I got a chance to catch them live. If you havent, you need to. Also cant say ehough about Binky Griptite's Ghetto Funk Power Hour Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blue2blue Posted February 23, 2010 Members Share Posted February 23, 2010 Diane's well-shaped, for sure.I've continued my efforts in learning the acoustic-restaurant-gig standards, and this week relearned "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay", among others. I forgot how weird that song is harmonically. The head of Stax Records (before Al Bell) had a "no minor chords" rule, which makes it even weirder. The verse uses the II as a turnaround, and the chorus just alternates between the I and the VI. It's almost as if that dum-dum-dum-dum descending line (from the IV to the II in the verse, and the I to the VI in the chorus) dictated the whole thing, instead of standard rules of Western harmony.Back in the 70s I had one of those 'big hits of the 60s and 70s' books and it had "Dock of the Bay" -- a song I really like a lot -- but the chords always seemed peculiar to me (I wasn't real sharp on the theory thing back then); that certainly helps explain things a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rsadasiv Posted February 23, 2010 Members Share Posted February 23, 2010 Back in the 70s I had one of those 'big hits of the 60s and 70s' books and it had "Dock of the Bay" -- a song I really like a lot -- but the chords always seemed peculiar to me (I wasn't real sharp on the theory thing back then); that certainly helps explain things a bit. This is from memory, but I think the verse starts out G-E, and in G major you would usually play G-Em. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blue2blue Posted February 23, 2010 Members Share Posted February 23, 2010 I guess I'm going to have to stop rejecting things just because I've heard of them. I'm not sure, I think maybe I assumed the Dap-Kings were some kind of alt rock band... big mistake, obviously. Some of the retro production seems to teeter on gimmickyness, but the performances have lotsa soul, no question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rsadasiv Posted February 23, 2010 Members Share Posted February 23, 2010 Some of the retro production seems to teeter on gimmickyness, but the performances have lotsa soul, no question. I was going to post this in the Recording forum, but since you mention it... I was listening on earbuds last night, and I noticed that on the "100 Days, 100 Nights" they very consistently pan the bass and rhythm guitar away from each other (hard L/R in most cases). Given the issues with etching stereo bass frequencies, I thought that panning the bass (and kick drum) dead center was pretty much a rule for vinyl mastering, and I was wondering why a group that was so hung up on getting a retro sound would violate that panning rule? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Chicken Monkey Posted February 23, 2010 Members Share Posted February 23, 2010 This is from memory, but I think the verse starts out G-E, and in G major you would usually play G-Em. In G, my book (and ear) says to go to the B7 (III7) chord. Then IV, then the walk down to II. The chorus goes G-E. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rsadasiv Posted February 23, 2010 Members Share Posted February 23, 2010 In G, my book (and ear) says to go to the B7 (III7) chord. Then IV, then the walk down to II. The chorus goes G-E. Evidently, my memory ain't what it used to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blue2blue Posted February 23, 2010 Members Share Posted February 23, 2010 I was going to post this in the Recording forum, but since you mention it...I was listening on earbuds last night, and I noticed that on the "100 Days, 100 Nights" they very consistently pan the bass and rhythm guitar away from each other (hard L/R in most cases). Given the issues with etching stereo bass frequencies, I thought that panning the bass (and kick drum) dead center was pretty much a rule for vinyl mastering, and I was wondering why a group that was so hung up on getting a retro sound would violate that panning rule? Sixties vinyl mastering tended to have a lot less bass than the records cut in the 70s... (Stax records were a bit of an exception -- but they had a tight/solid thing going that, as I recall them, suggested they were rolling off the very bottom to give themselves a little more wiggle room.) And, of course, for most of the 60s, stereo was an afterthought in the youth market -- if stereo versions were available at all. But the fact that most 60s stuff was recorded on 3 and 4 track machines meant a lot less flexibility. In those days, it was somewhat rare for a rhythm guitar, bass, and drums to not be all on the same track. From there, there were different strategies for track assignment of lead vox, lead solo instruments, and sweetening (strings, topside percussion, b/u vox). The specialty label, Command Performance Records, started by big band leader Enoch Light, himself a hi fi buff, for a while marketed their super-slick recordings as 'filling the hole-in-the-middle' -- they apparently had special 3 track machines made that used sprocketed magnetic coated film stock for what they claimed as better fidelity. (Mercury also used similar machines but seldom achieved the same results.) By the late 60s, though, as 8 tracks were coming into play, you start getting drums and bass in the middle. Earlier recordings, not so much pop/rock, that were tracked live sometimes had the drums and bass in the middle. (Sunset Sound was one of the first LA studios to get an 8 track and the Doors' elaborate Strange Days album one of the first to take advantage of the new technology.) PS... I'm really digging the Dap-Tones. As far as retro-revivalism goes... they've got it down pretty solid. They don't have what you'd call a unique identity, sound-wise, but they sure do rock hard. PPS... Digging it more the second day. Also the Amy Winehouse tune is pretty cool... there's something that keeps it from maximum impact... but it's pretty cool. The American street life milieu of it is kinda interesting... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.